Article Contact:
Maia Rodriguez-Semp
Communications Coordinator 
(617) 626-1083  
[email protected]
Meet Jack Illingworth: Environmental Analyst at the Office of Technical Assistance & Technology (OTA)
Jack Illingworth worked in chemical manufacturing industry for over 40 years and joined the OTA technical assistance team in 2016. 
Tell us about yourself and your background:

I grew up on the south shore and still live there. I’ve been happily married for 30 years and we have two kids. 


At one point our whole family worked at Polaroid. I started work at Polaroid right after high school and worked there for 24.5 years in chemical manufacturing, process development, and research and development. When that site closed, I worked at a different Polaroid division for 5 years.


After that, I found a job working at a small company called MicroChem that makes chemicals for the microelectronics industry. Over my 13 years there I started as a chemical manufacturing specialist and took on roles in environmental health and safety (EH&S), production management, equipment maintenance, and purchasing.


I found the job at OTA because I had started looking for a job closer to home. MicroChem had relocated to central MA and I had helped them through that process but, after a couple of years, the commute became too much. I was looking at a few different jobs with the state but this seemed interesting; I could work for the state and help companies out with some of the same things that I’d been dealing with in EH&S.

What do you do at OTA?

I work with companies that make machinery, computer equipment, transportation equipment, chemical polymers, coatings, cleaners, and jewelry.


I help them with compliance (air, water, hazardous waste, health and safety regulations) and look for process improvements and safer alternatives that reduce chemical use and risks at the facility. 

 

I do outreach to let people know that OTA is free of charge and confidential. They can ask me questions or have me come out to their facility to do a consultation and feel comfortable knowing that I won't report anything I see to the regulators. We can’t even talk about which companies we’re working with to anyone outside OTA.
How is it different from working in the private sector?
It’s an interesting change for me. I love visiting companies. That’s the best part of the job. It’s great to be able to see the results when I've helped a company. For example, if I’m called into a company because they got fined as a result of an inspection, they follow through with the recommendations I make and then a couple months later I hear that they got another inspection and passed, that feels good.


The outreach part of the job is challenging for me because I know what it’s like on the receiving end of sales calls. I remember how it used to be: if I didn’t already know who was calling, I didn’t pick up. So now I’m on the other end of that and trying to convince people at facilities that I’m there to help.
Before joining OTA, did you have experience with pollution prevention measures in industry?

The companies I worked for were very interested in doing the best they could with compliance and one even started a toxic waste reduction program. They used solvent recovery equipment to reduce the amount of waste that had to be shipped off. I got to see how a successful waste reduction program worked.


However, when management changed the process to eliminate the solvent, it became more acutely dangerous to workers if there was ever a leak in the system than it had before. The replacement was less toxic but more reactive. It seemed to me like the focus on eliminating the solvent didn't take into account the bigger picture of minimizing overall risk at the facility which would have been my priority.
What’s one thing you would like people to know about you?
I love to volunteer my time. I’ve been involved in 4H in Plymouth County for years. I’m a club leader and the president of the Plymouth County 4H Advisory Council which does fundraising for student scholarships and trips among other things. I’m also the livestock director at the Marshfield Fair and am on the Plymouth County Extension board of directors. At home we have five goats, 20 chickens, a dog and a rabbit. 
The Office of Technical Assistance and Technology | 100 Cambridge Street Suite 900        | (617) 626-1060 | [email protected]

Contact Jack Illingworth at (617) 626-1090  |  [email protected]